The name of the game is domination

3/1/2013 –  With Magnus Carlsen's Elo skyrocketing past Mars, the big talk is on the record rating and how far he can take it. The secondary talk, understandably, is how this compares with past ratings, and whether the record is indeed a record. In the following article, a different perspective is shed on the subject, highlighting the most dominant rating as opposed to the highest. Food for thought.

Reykjavik Open 2013 : Three for the gold

3/1/2013 –  The 2013 Reykjavik Open will be remembered for helping to establish as the youngest GM in the world Wei Yi, who will no longer be able to hide from the limelight. The tournament ended with a bang and a whimper as the top board saw a handshake between Pavel Eljanov and Wesley So after just three moves, allowing Egyptian GM Bassem Amin to join them. David Navara ended with a bang.

Zurich R4: Caruana defeats Anand in a wild round

3/1/2013 –  What a round! Two great games were played today and the spectators cannot be unhappy. The more rational one was a victory and the crazy game turned out to be a draw! And once again Garry Kasparov was present, commenting and even participating in the postgame analysis. In addition to the video coverage of all this we have some lovely impressions from an Alpine excursion on the free day.

Wei Yi has become the youngest GM in the world

3/1/2013 –  After seven rounds he was in the follow-up group with 5.5 points, and in round eight he faced former child prodigy Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, now 22 and rated 2715. The French GM played an attacking game, but faced an ice-cold defence and some nice tactics by the Chinese IM, who won and secured his final GM norm – at the age of 13 years, 8 months and 23 days.

Tata Steel Studies Composing tourney

3/1/2013 – We recently published a report on the problem solving competition that was held during this year's Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. Among the festivities there was a special study composing tourney, with a generous prize fund. A total of 89 studies were submitted, and 20 of them received awards. Tournament judge Yochanan Afek shows us the first five.

29th Cappelle-La-Grande Open: the tradition continues

3/1/2013 –  With the demise of the Aeroflot Open as a classical games event, the circuit of super opens lost one of its prized members. However, aficionados need not fear, with events such as the Cappelle-La-Grande Open in France, now in its 29th edition. The stalwart tournament also attracted no fewer than 563 players and more grandmasters and masters than ever. An event full of expectations and surprises.

Zurich R3: Two draws with exciting chess

2/26/2013 – An exciting round for sure, despite the lack of decisive results. Boris Gelfand played a Najdorf against his 2012 World Championship opponent Vishy Anand, sacrificed a pawn and was able to hold him to a draw in 42 moves. Vladimir Kramnik used a Benoni against Fabiano Caruana and had the advantage in a well-fought draw. Guess who dropped in to assist with the commentary.

Zurich: Two draws in round two

2/25/2013 – In a tournament where there are only two boards, the spectators run the risk that in both games the white pieces will be neutralized with some precise opening preparation and the games will simply wither into a stale draw. Luckily that was the case in only one of the games. Round two report with video commentary and postgame analysis.

Reykjavik Open 2013 – three players lead with 6.0/7

2/24/2013 – The three are Ukrainian GM Pavel Iljanov, who has conceded only two draws and has displayed a performance of 2817; Polish GM Grzegorz Gajewski, with a 2765 performance; and GM Wesley So of the Philippines, who has a rating of 2684 but is performing at a 2761 level. Report after round seven with pictorial impressions by WGM Alina L'Ami.

Zurich: two draws in round one

2/24/2013 – The first round of the four-player category 21 event saw two games with unusual openings. Vladimir got a small advantage against Boris Gelfand but could not turn it into a full point; while Fabiano Caruana relinquished his advantage in time trouble against Vishy Anand and had to fight for 65 moves to secure the draw. Round one report with video commentary and postgame analysis.

Zurich Chess Challenge begins today

2/23/2013 – It's a category 21 four-player double round robin event, with two World Champions, a WCh challenger and the one of the brightest young talents in the current chess scene. The venue is the elegant Savoy Hotel in Zurich, Switzerland. The event started on Friday with an opening ceremony and a Blitz tournament, which was won by the youngest participant.

The latest from FIDE – decisions, decisions

2/22/2013 – It is not the most riviting report we have ever published, but we'll see if you will "like" it anyway – well over 100 reposted the recent Kasparov in Georgia piece in Facebook. The current report is on 51 decisions taken by FIDE during its Presidential Board meeting in Armenia, as well as pictorials of President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov's visits to Mongolia, Beirut and Astrakhan. What's there not to like?

Reykjavik Open 2013 – four players lead

2/22/2013 – This popular nine-round Swiss event is being held in the Icelandic capital for the 28th time – from February 19 to 27, in the concert hall and conference centre Harpa. 227 players from different countries are particpating. After four rounds there are four leaders (Yu Yangyi, Eljanov, Gajewski, Vachier-Lagrave) with perfect scores. Report with pictorial impressions by WGM Alina L'Ami.

The Moth Radio Hour with Maurice Ashley

2/21/2013 – Originally concieved as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theaters and clubs around New York City and later around the country. In the February 5th episode the world's first African American grandmaster Maurice Ashley describes his development as a chess player.

Fridman's fortress, Meier's mighty, Anand's exploits

2/21/2013 – The recent Baden Baden tournament saw some deep and exciting chess, often culminating in decisive endgames, which our columnist GM Karsten Müller has been carefully monitoring for the next issue of ChessBase Magazine. We bring you four instructive examples which you can use to hone your skills in an important part of the game.  Learn and enjoy.

Kasparov and Chess in Schools in Georgia

2/20/2013 – These days the chess legend Garry Kasparov seems to have one thing predominantly on his mind: introducing chess in schools all over the world. Last year we saw his efforts in Germany, and now he has officiated in actually implementing a programme in Georgia, a country with possibly the highest computer and Internet penetration in the world. Pictorial report by Sophie Nikoladze.

4th Tata Steel Studies Solving Competition – solutions

2/20/2013 – In this recent competition it was one of the older competitors, John Nunn, who won first prize, by the highest score achieved in recent years. John wrote us a report – with pictures taken by co-competitor WGM Alina L'Ami – and included three marvellous studies for our readers to solve. You've had a week to work on them – here now are Link Text

Jerry and Kramer discuss chess

2/20/2013 – If you happen to live on this planet chances are you have seen most of the 150 episodes of the Seinfeld show, a commercial blockbuster and cultural phenomenon that aired on NBC from 1989 to 1998 – and is now in syndication world-wide. The two lead actors, Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards ("Kramer"), were recently in a chat video, mostly discussing – chess. Don't miss this one.

Play the King's Indian Defence with g3 in 60 minutes

2/19/2013 – The King's Indian Defense is one of Black's most aggressive replies, with tons of double-edged theory, and many attacking options. GM Adrian Mikhalchishin gives a master class on the g3 line, showing how it can efficiently fight the King's Indian, without drowning in theory, by focusing on plans and ideas instead of mountains of memorization. Read the review.

Edward Winter's Chess Explorations (96)

2/18/2013 – It is one hundred years since the term ‘hypermodern’ began appearing in chess literature, but who exactly were the precursors and inventors of this so-called revolution? The Editor of Chess Notes puts forward a cast that includes A. Alekhine, J.H. Blackburne, E. Bogoljubow, G. Breyer, A. Flamberg, E. Grünfeld, R. Réti, A. Nimzowitsch, H. Staunton, S. Tartakower, E. Williams and ... M. Wolfson.

Aeroflot Open 2013: Sergey Karjakin wins in last seconds

2/18/2013 – It was a remarkably tough event, and among the eight qualifiers to the finals were more than one elite player, the most notable being Gata Kamsky. They were joined by Karpov, Karjakin, Svidler, Grischuk, Nepomniachtchi, Wang Hao, Mamedyarov and Andreikin. After several matches decided by sudden death, Karjakin fittingly beat Grischuk by a mere two seconds. Illustrated report.

Baden Baden R10: Anand wins Grenke Chess Classic

2/18/2013 – With a last-round black-pieces win over the flamboyant Arkadij Naiditsch the World Champion Viswanathan Anand secured sole victory in this tournament, with 6.5/10 points and a 2808 performance. This was confirmed when Anand's main rival, the Italian GM Fabiano Caruana, failed to convert a very promising position against Daniel Fridman. Final report with commentary and videos.

The 1937 Prokofiev-Oistrakh match

2/18/2013 – The year was 1937 and the match had been officially announced. Ten classical games were to be played at the Master of Art Club in Moscow, with grandmaster Vladimir Alatortsev and the famed theoretician Ilya Kan overseeing it. The players were the great composer, Sergey Prokofiev, and legendary violinist, David Oistrakh. It was the peak of the chess rivalry between the two music giants.

Baden Baden R9: Anand catches Caruana

2/18/2013 – The script of the event had seemed to be carved in stone – a single decisive game a day, the World Champion struggling to win and Caruana surviving scares on his way to an inevitable first place. But in the penultimate round the script was tossed out: Caruana fell to defeat against Adams, Anand joined him in the lead by beating Fridman, and Naiditsch was tamed by Meier. Round nine report.